Captain Heal Thy Teaboy
by elfmaiden4legs
Summary: Jack comes back into Gwen's life in a rather unexpected way, and unable to cope without Ianto Jones in his life any longer reveals something rather surprising... that he's going to bring Ianto back!
1. Chapter 1

**Captain Heal Thy Teaboy – Chapter 1**

Several long and painful months had already passed since Gwen had last seen Jack, since the cold, dark evening they'd spent… bitter and black beyond the vicious bite of the icy breeze, the evening they'd all spent on top of that now cursed hill, staring down at the city lights below, and Jack had finally made the decision to leave earth… a broken shell of the colourful character he'd once been. Gwen had begged him not to go, not to run away, but she'd suspected that his mind had already been made up a long time ago, and there was nothing she could have said to change it. She couldn't really say that she'd blamed him either, she still had Rhys, but after Ianto's death Jack had been left with nobody… her aching heart went out to him, one way or another he always seemed to end up alone, and he really had loved Ianto… but she still lived through that final unbearable, heart crunching moment every evening… in her nightmares. A pain which she'd often thought she'd never be able to break through or overcome, a sadness so deep… but Rhys had helped her through.

Baby Ianto was now four weeks old, and, despite his absence Gwen had had no doubts, no second thoughts in her mind in proclaiming Jack his godfather… perhaps one day, she hoped, another Ianto, but not his Ianto, would give the Captain reason enough to return to earth, and although not forget, put the whole sorry 456 state of affairs behind him, although she had her doubts.

She often wondered what Jack was up to, how far he's travelled, what time frame or galaxy he was in now… how many times he'd died, only to revive alone and empty… if he'd met up with the Doctor yet, where there might be the chance he could find some peace and healing at last… or if he was still acting as a lone ranger.

Despite his distinct absence though there hadn't been the complete termination of correspondence – the occasional and few and far between indication that despite his final words Captain Jack Harkness had been making the briefest of returns to earth; the occasional note through the letter box, or voice message left on the flats answer phone, of course nobody was ever there to take the call, and by the time anybody arrived home in order to receive it Jack would be long gone… a bouquet of flowers placed upon Ianto's empty grave, or at the site of the Hub, Tosh and Owen's final resting place… Torchwood had already recovered the bodies of course and carted them away for alternative storage long ago.

She had already started work on the restoration of Torchwood 3, slightly different location although not too far from the original site. It was slow progress, particularly now with a young family, baby Ianto called for so much of Gwen's time. But she couldn't go back to living a normal life now, not after all she'd seen, all that she knew… the life that Captain Jack had opened her eyes to, the rift after all still existed, the threat to the city, to the world, perhaps even to the entire universe still very real, and she couldn't just ignore that. Although she was still very much surprised to return home from work one day to find a note, addressed to her sitting upon the dining table, looking around for the briefest of moments she wondered how it came to be here, although she already knew the answer to that, with the pounding of her heart recognising the familiar handwriting, before tearing the envelope open and beginning to read.

_Gwen,_

_Please forgive me. I think I've found a way to put this wrong right! Meet me at the bar I took you to after we first met, I'll explain everything. I'm going to bring Ianto back!_

_Jack._

_P.S. I've missed you!_

"I've missed you to Jack…" She muttered under her breath, reading over the note, repeating Jack's message to herself over and over again, the words bringing tears to her eyes, before, with this Gwen didn't think twice, her stomach already in her mouth with he impact of Jack's words… was it possible? Could Jack really bring Ianto back? Or was this all just wishful thinking? Was he delusional? Where had he been for all this time? She turned the note from Jack over on the table in front of her, the first piece of paper that came to hand, and began to write;

_Rhys,_

_Jack's back, I've gone to meet him in town! He says that he can bring Ianto back! The baby sitter is still booked for another few hours yet so don't worry! I'll be back soon, or ring me!_

_I love you sweetheart!_

_Your Gwen._

Signed with four, perfectly sculptured kisses, before kissing the paper, partly to leave the faint imprint of her lipstick now dry on her supple lips after a long days work, for Rhys to fins later, just so he'd know, even after all this time, how much she loved him… it still smelt of Jack…

With this she retrieved her car keys from where she'd flung them on the mantelpiece, beside an assorted array of photographs of her and Rhys in varying locations, striking an variety of silly poses, taken at different stages of their relationship… all however clearly heavily involved; the latest in the line a series of wedding photographs, honeymoon snapshots, more recently hospital mementos of a rather dishevelled, clearly exhausted although evidently exotically happy looking Gwen and Rhys holding baby Ianto at just a few minutes old… and finally one of the entire Torchwood team together; Jack, Ianto, Owen, Toshiko and herself, happy, smiling, oblivious to the future heartbreak which awaited them. She stroked the photo affectionately… at least that was one of the plus sides of not having to hide Torchwood from Rhys anymore, no more secrets, no more lies, her memories of Tosh, Owen, Ianto displayed freely throughout the home, now as much a part of their life together as the every day events, doubled with the special occasions they'd both taken for granted before Captain Jack had entered their lives, and turned their world upside down forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**Captain Heal Thy Teaboy – Chapter 2**

Gwen waited at the small bar for hours, hydrating herself with glass after glass of tap water until her bladder felt so swollen she feared that the pressure building up inside of her might prove too much, and that she may actually burst in an embarrassing flood of hot urine where she sat. At first she began to believe that Jack wasn't going to show… but she realised that he hadn't stated exactly when he'd meet her, and so reluctantly returning to the bar, realising that it had been hours since and she hadn't brought a single drink, fearing the wrath of the bar staff whom she noticed were already beginning to aim confused and reproachful looks in her direction, she brought herself a large coke an sat back down to sip her drink slowly. It had already been late by the time she'd reached Cardiff City Centre, and the small bar which Jack had taken her to on the day they'd first met, tucked away down a side street and away from the humdrum of the main shopping centre… at least seven o'clock by the time she'd sat down to ponder over her first drink. Now however as Gwen casually drained the last dregs of ice from her dew drenched glass she observed the distorted figure of the young bar maid approaching her through the frosted, reinforced base, and, glancing at her watch realised that it was already five to eleven. She smiled politely as the young girl approached her table, a damp dish cloth, smelling of mild antiseptic and a fist full of used glasses in one hand. Her strawberry blonde hair tied back in a loose ponytail, now slightly dishevelled after what had obviously been a long and draining shift, as her deep brown eyes mismatched against the tome of her hair leading Gwen to suspect that she wasn't a natural blonde, locked upon Gwen with a purpose in mind. She smiled with a professional friendliness as Gwen acknowledged her approach, revealing an almost perfect set of pearly white teeth.

"We're closing now love." She explained in a thick Welsh accent as she scooped up Gwen's empty glass with one remaining finger, and with her free hand gave the table a quick wipe down with the lightly scented dishcloth. The clink of the one glass against many reverberated through the now steadily emptying bar.

"He won't show now…" She continued as Gwen quickly apologised, lost in a world of empty disappointment, abandonment and despair, and slightly subconsciously reaching for her handbag.

"Who?" Gwen asked.

"Whoever you've been waiting for." The young girl explained. "Stand you up did he?"

Gwen shook her head, slightly taken aback and suddenly annoyed by the girl's brash forwardness, her sickly sweet tone and beauty queen smile beginning to grate on Gwen's already frayed nerves.

"I'm married." She explained with some acidity at this. "Besides I don't see that that's any of your business!" Before quickly revising her lukewarm disposition and apologising. "I'm sorry."

"Oh well, they're all the same in my experience." The young blonde rambled on, apparently oblivious to Gwen's sudden flair of temper, and she suspected that she'd probably had to deal with far worse… perhaps she's even become accustomed, desensitised to rowdy, abusive, even aggressive or violent punters in her line of work. "Still…" She smiled, "you're the longest I've ever seen anybody wait… most just give up after the first hour. He must be something quite special."

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked, scooping her leather jacket from the back of her seat, and eyeing the young girl with mock innocence.

"You've been sitting here for four hours." She smiled, tone dripping with too much sincerity for it all to be genuine, and Gwen suspected that what she was really after was an outlet to relieve some of the boredom generated by the final hour of her shift. Gwen simply smiled, politely, nodding.

"Yes… yes he is." She explained, thinking silently to herself '_more special than you'll ever know_', before taking her leave. "Goodnight." She muttered in farewell, more in the fear of appearing unnecessarily impolite than through any real desire to pacify the woman.

As Gwen made her way out of the bar and out into the dark night she braced herself against the icy breeze, pausing momentarily in the doorway to throw her leather jacket over her shivering shoulders in an attempt to block out the cold, when she observed a dark figure moving in the shadow of an adjoining doorway, and, momentarily startled, she drew her gun aiming the barrel at the chalky silhouette, instinct and her Torchwood training taking over. "Come out with your hands up. I have a gun!" She warned. "Now who are you?"

"I don't think that's going to be of much use to you." The man spoke, in an American accent and familiar tone of voice which Gwen thought she'd recognise anywhere and at any fixed point in time, no matter how much time passed without hearing it, her beating heart already in her mouth as Jack stepped out of the shadows.

"Hello Gwen." He smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"Jack!" Gwen exclaimed, immediately replacing the gun in her back jean pocket, and launching herself at him, arms outstretched, as she leapt to embrace him, before throwing her arms rapturously around his neck. As she did so she heard Jack's laugh, meekly, and felt the strength of his gentle palms against her back as he returned the gesture. He'd looked tired she thought, from the brief glimpse she'd gained of him in the dark light of the evening, but now took pleasure and comfort in the moment as she rested her head against the shoulder of the man she'd began to doubt she would ever see again. Breathing in Jack's familiar scent as she listened to the sound of his gentle breathing, his breath caressing her ear, as she ran his fingers affectionately across her cheek and jaw line, and through his hair.

"Did you miss me?" He asked.

Gwen spent a further moment, savouring the instant, wrapped in his warm embrace, remembering exactly why she'd once loved him, maybe still so, although not in the way that she loved Rhys, and she'd realised with a heavy heart a long time ago that Jack could never love another in the same way he'd loved Ianto, his Ianto… her Ianto… their Ianto… Torchwood's Ianto. A Torchwood long since destroyed…. and left in rubble and ruin, their Hub now gone, what little which had once remained of it's existence had long since been cleared away, and Cardiff Bay carefully reconstructed and rebuilt as of old. Even so she could feel the anger beginning to bubble inside of her, the hurt, and regret, all feeling of abandonment she'd harboured in the days, and weeks preceding Jack's departure, and in that moment her feelings of elation dissipated somewhat, and she pulled away from him, he sudden rejection and resentment born of her anger.

It was then that Gwen did something which surprised even herself, and she turned and hit Jack, hands forming into fists as she pounded Jack's shoulders and chest, tears forming in her eyes and spilling out over onto her dress, as Jack did his best to drag her back into his arms, and his comforting embrace.

"You left me Jack!" She cried. "Ianto died, and… and you just left me!"

"I know," Jack sighed, "I know, and I'm sorry."

"That was such a selfish thing to do Jack!" She sobbed.

"I know…" Jack whispered, and as Gwen allowed herself to be pulled back into the tight hug of his warm arms she felt the wet of his tears against her cheek as he too began to cry.

"I've missed you." She finally sighed, and as Jack took a heavy, heaving sigh she broke away from him for a second time, this time much calmer than before however as she thought she heard him mutter, '_I've missed you to,_' before, wiping away her own tears she turned back to him with a smile.

"I thought you weren't going to show!" She confessed.

"Gwen Cooper," He chided, "and I thought Rhys was the pessimistic one. Of course I was going to show, I wouldn't have left you the note otherwise… I wouldn't do that to you!"

"How are you Jack?" She asked, a small smile spreading across her face at this like bleeding ink.

He looked at her, eyes revealing a lifetime of pain and regret for a moment, before he sighed, smiled, and within that second he'd resumed the front of old which he'd often adopted so many times before to keep his own emotions safely locked within, and other people out.

He grinned at her. "I'm fine." He nodded. "You know me, it takes more than a little heartache to keep me down for long…"

His voice broke however with suppressed emotion which he couldn't conceal, his eyes glistening with the tears which threatened to shatter his façade.

"Jack…" She whispered.

"It's alright Gwen…" He smiled. "I've lived so many lives, loved so many people… watched most of them come and go within the blink of an eye… but with Ianto it was different… I really loved him… I thought we could be together forever. His forever at least." He explained. "I'd hoped to watch him grow old, to see him live a life as long and colourful as the billions of other people who've never even heard of Torchwood, who've never had their lives touched by the devastation it breeds. To watch him die an old man, peacefully in my arms, not a Torchwood death… he didn't deserve to die like that!"

"I know." Gwen sighed comfortingly, taking Jack by the hand and squeezing it gently.

"Gwen I'll never forget Ianto…" Jack continued with a heavy heart. "But, I've had to move on… it's the only way I could carry on living."

Gwen listened, and smiled in understanding.

"Life goes on I guess." She explained. "We've all had to find ways of getting on with our lives… Jack what happened to Ianto was a huge tragedy… I know, it was so sad… but it wasn't your fault Jack. Moving on, it's what Ianto would have wanted!"

It was at this point that Jack suddenly appeared to notice Gwen's slim, slender figure however, the lack of any bump, the like of which she'd had the last time he'd seen her, bringing a much welcome sparkle back to Jack's eyes.

"You had the baby?" He beamed.

Gwen grinned. "One month ago, a healthy, happy, bounding baby boy!" She announced.

"Oh that's brilliant!" Jack exclaimed, beaming and nearly jumping a mile high into the air, before pulling Gwen into a tight squeeze. "Congratulations, Gwen Cooper, you're going to make a fantastic mom!"

"I'm going to try." She agreed, before continuing more cautiously, breaking her next revelation calmly, and carefully to Jack. "I named him Ianto." She explained.

With this the Captain froze, Gwen watching him carefully as he appeared to be considering the implications of what she had just told him for a moment however, his eyes distant and wondering, yet still fixed fixatedly upon her, his expression apparently suspended in time, before, to her relief he finally responded.

"I think it's wonderful…" He smiled meekly. "Ianto would have been proud… can I see him?" He asked.

"Of course you can Jack!" Gwen laughed. "That is if you're sticking around long enough."

"I'm not going anywhere." He winked.

"So, Jack where did you go?" She asked.

Jack grinned, "Everywhere… or so it seemed." He nodded. "I found my Doctor!" He added with a smile.

Gwen looked at him with some suppressed surprise at this. Although she'd always hoped for it she'd never dared to believe that Jack really would find the Doctor, or that the Doctor may find him, as the case may have been, as far as she was concerned the odds were just too heavily stacked against them for that, in a Universe as vast and expansive as theirs, and through all of time and space… but she continued now, along this track anyway, hardly daring to believe.

"Did he fix you?" She asked, and Jack suddenly fixed her with a solemn and distant gaze which made her heart sink.

"No…" He finally admitted. "But he gave e hope!"

"Hope?" Gwen frowned, before suddenly recalling the most curious revelation in Jack's note, which had instantly filed her heart with joy, and longing, and a renewed sense of hope which had bubbled and burned inside of her so much so that she'd almost had to suppress for fear of it all becoming a little too much, and coming crashing down around her now. '_I'm going to bring Ianto back_!'

"I know how to use it now you see!" Jack continued.

"Use what?" She asked.

"The Doctor introduced me to them!" He explained. "A curious but benevolent race, who actually lived off the life force created by love and human compassion. That's why they created it you see, so none of them need ever live lonely again. The Doctor said that they were a private species, who wouldn't normally divulge the secrets of their race to what they considered to be outsiders amongst them… but they listened to my story like the fare race they are, and rather than dismissing it, it apparently moved them, and they taught me how to use it properly this time!"

Gwen frowned, shaking her head in confusion at this. Jack was becoming more and more elated by the moment, running on nervous energy, whilst she was only proceeding in becoming more and more bemused.

"Gave you what Jack?" She demanded. "What are you talking about? You're not making any sense!"

And with this Jack took a large metallic object from the pocket of his greatcoat, what looked like a large metal glove, Gwen, recognising it immediately with alarm.

She couldn't suppress the gasp which escaped her.

"The resurrection glove." He revealed finally at last. "I'm bringing Ianto back!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"No Jack, you can't!" Gwen exclaimed. "You can't possibly use that thing!"

"Things are different this time though Gwen!" He reassured her. "I know how to use it properly!"

"But Jack, remember Suzie, and Owen." She pleaded desperately with him. "Remember what it did to them, Owen would have bee better off staying dead… and remember me Jack, remember what that thing did to me! The glove almost killed me Jack!"

"I know." He sighed regretfully at this, as though still haunted by the memories. "But as I say, things are different now!" He remarked defiantly.

Gwen, her previous euphoria at seeing Jack again now slowly dyeing as her heart sank, realised with this that she wasn't going to change his mind. She saw, in that moment, the look of anguish on Jack's face, he'd been left totally broken by Ianto's death, broken and damaged… that's why he'd left planet Earth, because he hadn't been able to cope with the prospect of living in a world where everything reminded him of Ianto… where what it meant to be human reminded him of Ianto, any longer, and he was desperate, and in her mind that made Jack dangerous… because for once Captain Jack Harkness was thinking with his heart rather than his head.

She just stood, looking deep into Jack's eyes, letting the silence between them do all the talking for what felt to her like a very long time, her dark pools gazing deep into Jack's sky blue ones, before, replacing the glove in the pocket of his greatcoat, he turned away.

"What happened to you Jack?" Gwen finally asked, eyes welling, and as he turned back to face her with this she saw that he too had tears in his eyes. He shook his head.

"I don't know Gwen." He explained finally. "I tried so hard to get over Ianto, to treat his as just another death I must accept as part of this immortal curse I know I must endure. I thought that when I first left you after the weeks preceding the 456 that this world might provide enough distraction in order to help me do that, there was still so much I had yet to explore… but this world was not enough… I've lost so many people already over the years, watched as people come and go in nothing more than a blip in the timeline of this Universe's great life… some I probably can't even recall anymore, it was so long ago. But Ianto was different, Ianto was like the Doctor, Ianto was special. As it turned out not even the entire Universe was vast enough in the end… casual sex and one night stands felt meaningless… so I stopped bothering after a while, there was a time, a long time ago I know that would have helped to blot the pain out… but I've changed… I've changed too much… my life didn't seem worth living anymore… and then the Doctor found me. The first time he discovered me I'd found myself at thus tin bar, somewhere in the crossway between this Solar System and the others which connect our rift with the rest of the Universe… we didn't speak, he had something heavy preying on his mind, I could tell that… but I knew I'd see him again… the second time, he was different, but I knew he was still my Doctor… that's all that mattered… and the rest you already know."

"But Jack…" Gwen pleaded. "You can't do this… it's not right… think of what Ianto would have wanted… he's at peace now!"

"Don't try to tell me what Ianto would have wanted Gwen!" Jack suddenly snapped, taking the young Welshwoman back in surprise, and, even she had to admit, slightly hurt by the ferocity of his statement. He sudden pain this caused her was conveyed by the sudden, subtle change in moisture in her eyes, as they started to burn, but she'd never seen Jack so heart set on anything before… he didn't even notice, just carried on talking.

"There is no peace to be gained from a death like Ianto's Gwen!" He explained. "Just pain, and suffering, and loss… and darkness… nothing. The knowledge that it was all pointless, and for nothing!"

"Ianto died trying to save the world… doing what he signed up to do!" Gwen argued.

"No! Ianto died because for once in my life I tried to do the moral ting rather than what I knew was right… Ianto died because I was too stubborn and arrogant to open my mind to what the 456 may have been capable of… at least when Owen got shot he died trying to save Martha… the second time trying to close off that bunker in time to save Cardiff from a nuclear meltdown… Tosh, as she had always been in life, right at his side… hard to her own pain…"

"But people don't remember it like that…" Gwen soothed, doing her best to comfort her distraught Captain. "They remember Ianto with honour… as a hero."

"Ianto died slowly in my arms, begging me not to forget him… there's no honour to be found in that!" Jack exclaimed.

Gwen sighed, stroking Jack's rough palm with her delicate fingers with this.

"You don't really think giving the 456 the children would have been the right thing to do do you?" She asked, more in statement however than asking the question. "I know you don't."

Jack shook his head. "I don't know anymore." He replied with a tone so meek it was almost a whisper. "I've had a lot of time to think these past long months… you see, what has only been a few months for you has already been two years for me… and all I could think about in that time was what happened… what I could have done to prevent it… how to bring Ianto back…"

"I won't let you do this Jack!" She pleaded.

"I would have thought you of all people would understand Gwen!" He shook his head. "I would have thought you of all people would realise the pain, why I have to bring Ianto back. When Billis killed Rhys were you not the one begging me to bring him back?" He asked.

"That's a low card to play Jack…" She growled, long suppressed, painful memories of a time not long after she first joined Torchwood, when she'd thought she'd first lost Rhys forever, now being dredged back to the surface and coming flooding back to her. "Especially for you."

"It's the one thing I've always admired about you Gwen Cooper…"He smiled, "your compassion, the importance placed on human life."

"That was very different Jack, and you know it!" She explained. "I was new, I didn't realise the consequences! You do!"

"Honestly Gwen," He responded, with an acidity to his tone with this however that was quite outside of his normal commanding, although not malicious character. "I don't see what you can do to stop me. You may have rebuilt Torchwood, but I am still your Captain… I know where Ianto's body is!"

"You've been to the new Hub?" Gwen asked, realisation slowly dawning on her with this statement.

Jack nodded. "I must admit, you've rebuilt it well." He smiled, tone much softer this time, complementary even… but then the words slipped out from in between Gwen Cooper's lips before she could even stop them, unexpected, even to her… she had no idea why she said it;

"BASTARD!"

…and she immediately regretted it when she saw the look on Jack Harkness' face.

He sighed. "Goodbye Gwen." He breathed as he immediately turned and started walking away.

"Jack…" She called after him, desperate for him to respond to her, watching, routed to the spot as he went, his long second world war army issue greatcoat billowing out behind him as he walked, but it was all in vain.

She continued to call after him long after he was long gone, receiving confused and reproachful looks from passers by as they passed, crossing over onto the opposite side of the pavement in order to avoid her… before overcome she sat down on the step of the bar she'd only recently left, and, cupping her head in her hands despairingly, she sobbed.


	5. Chapter 5

**Captain Heal Thy Teaboy – Chapter 5**

Gwen ran, hard and fast, feeling the impact of her pounding steps as their collision with the hard ground reverberated painfully through her muscles and bone. She had always imagined this to be a happy time, Jack's return, a time for healing… but in Gwen's mind Jack had come back an even more broken man than when he's left, and she'd spoiled the moment. She's spent the last hour searching for him in every nook and cranny of the city she could think of, sweat pouring from her brow, running down her back, trickling down her face, and mingling with her salty tears drying on her pale cheeks, she'd even been back to the original site of the Hub… but to no avail.

Now all she could think of was getting home to Rhys and baby Ianto. Perhaps there'd even be a message at home waiting for her, another card, a missed phone call… but she doubted it.

She needed to be held, and the first person she thought of was her husband… her Rhys who didn't care about Torchwood, who's always been there for her, after Tosh and Owen, after Jack left… even after all the trouble she'd caused him; the lies she'd told after she'd first joined Torchwood, sleeping with Owen (even if he couldn't remember anything about that), a parasitic alien pregnancy, aliens at their wedding day, and nearly getting him killed, twice… the man she loved… and the man who'd die for her he loved her so much.

She only hoped that even now Jack hadn't left planet earth again… but something deep inside told her that that wasn't the case… he wasn't that far away.

The entire evening, during her desperate search foe her very dear friend she hadn't been able to shake the unearthly feeling that she was being watched.


	6. Chapter 6

**Captain Heal Thy Teaboy – Chapter 6**

Meanwhile Jack stood on the top of the Welsh Millennium Centre looking down at the water fountain, and at the site where the Hub had once been. His eyes glistened with unshed tears, and, as he watched, the skies rawed, the people of Cardiff Bay running in all directions as though like tiny ants scattering in order to avoid the wrath of heavy booted feet, and the heavens opened, a though taking it upon themselves to finally give Captain Jack Harkness permission to cry.

He watched Gwen's futile attempts to search for him from afar, the bitter outlet of her own grief glistening against pale cheeks, slightly flushed with the remnants of light make up, even from this distance, and as the heavy rain waters combined with Jack's own salty tears, a sea of tangy and bitter water was sent cascading down his face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Gwen had spent what felt like hours in search of Jack, scaling Cardiff and the Bay desperately for any sign of him, but all to no avail. She'd searched the city from top to bottom, searching every bar and club, and investigating every shopping centre still open at this time of night, but each new angle turned up nothing. Finally, soaking wet and shivering cold – teeth chattering with the bitter chill which had gripped her – she relented, accepting she'd finally have to admit defeat – there was really nothing more for her to do for now, and it was getting late – and started on her wary, long and lonely journey home, alone.

She'd clung onto the hope that Jack may just have left a message for her by the time she got home – perhaps a note slipped through the letter box, or a message left over the answering machine – just to let her know that he was safe… that he was alright and to give her a chance to explain, but deep in her heart she realised that that was almost too much to wish for – she'd hurt him too badly, her words had cut him far too deep.

Taking the stairs to the small second floor flat, which she'd shared with Rhys for the past few years, two at a time, she struggled with the key in the lock, swiping away the stray tears as they trickled from her dark eyes and down the freezing cold flesh f her face – stinging her pale cheeks – and throwing the door open with a desperate thud in her haste to get inside the tiny apartment.

Thrusting her set of house keys down upon the coffee table she searched in all the usual places; under the doormat, on top of the breakfast table, next to the phone, even down the sides of the chairs and in every other nook and cranny in her desperation, anywhere where Jack might have left a note for her, but her heart sank as after almost half an hour of searching she still turned up empty handed.

Maybe she really did need to accept the fact that she'd had her second chance, and she'd blown it… Jack was gone. It might have been easier for her that way. But deep down she couldn't bring herself to really believe that. He was still close by, all those hours she'd spent in search of him she'd sensed him there, watching over her, she knew deep down in her heart that he hadn't really gone, leaving her for a second time. But if Jack didn't want to be found then no amount of searching would find him. He'd been around for too long, much much longer than her, and knew the city far too well. She could search the city for the next fortnight and still not find him.

Of course he was upset, and obviously angered by the deck of cards which life had dealt him – he was of course destined to wander through life alone, forever – and her words had appeared to only add to his pain, and heartache… she could never forgive herself for that, but he'd calm down eventually, come round to a more rational frame of mind… and when he did Gwen would be right there waiting for him, with open arms upon his return…

…and so instead of embracing the fear which gripped her, giving into her grief and allowing it to envelop her, she battled to keep a lid on her emotions, hanging onto the belief that Jack would come back, in his own time, when he was ready to face her again.

She slipped off her sopping wet leather jacket, hanging it up outside the front door to drip dry, and, slipping her icy toes into a pair of warm slippers, and pouring herself a large glass of red wine, ran herself a hot bath, and waited for Rhys to return home with baby Ianto.

She tore up the note which she'd left pinned to the fridge for him earlier, with a magnet the shape of a Welsh dragon – Gwen seemed to recall that they'd received it free in a box of teabags once – and once again found herself having to bite back the bitter tears as she remembered how happy and full of renewed hope she'd been whilst writing it only a few hours before – throwing the tiny fragments of torn up paper into the nearby bin, and setting about preparations for her and Rhys' dinner.

She eyed up the food in the fridge indecisively for what felt to her like a ridiculously long time however – the vast array of it, and choice seemingly escaping her notice – as she found herself starring at a solitary, droopy looking cauliflower for almost five minutes, trying to decide what to do with it, before finally deciding to order in for pizza – she couldn't face cooking tonight.

Even pizza seemed to remind her of Jack however… and of Owen, and Ianto, an Toshiko, for that matter. It was how she'd first met them all, albeit in a rather off hand sort of way. She thought back affectionately to their first meeting, the Hub stinking of meat feast and pepperoni… they'd all consumed so much of it in the few yeas following that it was a wonder that they weren't all thirty stone by now and incapable of doing the job they'd been employed to do.

She smiled, momentarily.

Suddenly however she jumped as the phone rang, and raced to answer it, heart pounding inside her chest, and full of renewed hope, but it was only Rhys ringing to inform her that he was on his way home.

"Alright love." She sighed in her thick Welsh accent – heart beating painfully inside her chest as the adrenalin pumped through her veins, making her hands shake. It sounded to her as though he'd been to the pub – she could hear Banana Boat laughing heartily in the background – and she frowned with contempt. He knew that she didn't like him drinking when he was driving.

"If you've touched one drop of alcohol Rhys Williams…" She warned, and then smiled as she could hear him go on the defensive on the other end of the receiver, imagining as he threw his hands up innocently in his own defence.

"Orange juice only I promise." He assured her. "I'll be the healthiest man in Cardiff in no time… Besides…" He faltered, "Banana Boat's gone all T total now."

Gwen laughed. "I'll believe that when I see it." She scoffed.

"Yeah, well," He chuckled, "he's convinced he's cutting down… he only had twelve halves tonight instead of six pints!"

"Hey…" She heard Rhys' best friend exclaim indignantly in the background, and smiled.

"Pick baby Ianto up on the way home?" She asked. "I haven't had the chance yet… and the baby sitter will need paying tonight for the past week by the way."

"Already on it." He responded heartily down the other end of the line, and Gwen could now hear the sound of passing traffic in the distance. "I'm just on my way now… how did your meeting with Jack go by the way?" He asked.

Gwen's heart skipped a beat.

"How did you know about that?" She faltered.

"You left a message pinned to the fridge for me." He explained, laughing a somewhat bemused and slightly amused chuckle… surely she couldn't have forgotten already. "I found it when I came home but I didn't think you'd want to be disturbed… I thought you might like some time to yourselves… he's been gone quite a while."

Gwen sighed sadly. "To be honest love… I don't think it would have made a hell of a lot of difference." She sniffed, choking back the fresh tears which threatened to well with the mention of Jack's name.

"Let's just say that it didn't go too well…" She faltered.

There was a brief pause before Rhys spoke again, and she heard him let out a small exhale of breath down the receiver before he responded.

"Oh… I'm sorry love…" He sighed sympathetically, and Gwen could hear the pain in his voice. "I know how much this meant to you… how long you've waited for this day… are you alright?"

"Yeah…" She nodded, before realising that her husband couldn't see her response down the other end of the receiver and she sighed, biting back the rest of her tears.

"He's just so angry, and hurt…" She explained. "I just… I suppose I expected things to be different if he ever came back, I hoped that time might have had a chance to heal him, but he just seems more hurt than ever… I don't know, maybe I've been expecting too much. I just seemed to make things worse."

"What?" Rhys scoffed. "My Gwen? My beautiful, wonderful, caring wife? Who's give up the shirt off her own back if she thought somebody else needed it more than her."

She smiled.

"Don't worry love." He reassured her. "He'll be back."

"But how can you be so sure?" She asked.

"Because I know you," He half laughed, "and I know how much Jack means to you, and how much you mean to Jack… even if he was going to leave here again, he wouldn't be able to leave without saying goodbye."

'_I hope you're right…'_ Gwen thought desperately to herself, but what she actually said was;

"I love you Rhys Williams."

"Hey, what's not to love?" Her husband beamed down the other end of the line. "Right old Prince Charming that's me love, by the way, what's for dinner?"

"I was thinking of ordering pizza." She explained.

Gwen didn't see it, but Rhys' face lit up with the mention of his favourite take away dinner.

"Make mine a meat feast?" He pleaded.

Gwen suddenly went silent with this however, the mention of the team's favourite pizza toping striking a knife to her heart. Rhys hadn't asked for a meat feast in over a year, and if he had ever ordered one he'd always had the decency to eat it our of her sight.

It might have seemed irrational, but the loss of three of their five team members, their very best friend's, had affected them all in their own way.

"Oh sorry love." He apologised, immediately realising his mistake. "I didn't think… tell you what, make mine a ham and mushroom instead."

"No… no… its fine." She faltered. "Really… you just hurry up home, yeah?"

"Missing me already are you?" Rhys teased.

"As always." Gwen grinned.

"Then I'm already there." He blew a series of kisses at her down the line, and Gwen giggled.

"Drive safely." She added.

"Of course officer." He laughed, promising.

This had long since been an ongoing joke between the two of them, although he hadn't made it in a couple of years… not since Gwen had joined Torchwood.

By the time Gwen put the phone down she was already beginning to feel much better. Rhys always seemed to find a way to put a smile on her face, even during the darkest of times, but she still couldn't deny the heaviness of her heart, and before she could prevent them the sobs which she's been fighting for so long escaped her, and she cried thickly and freely, the smell of Jack's scent still lingering in her nostrils as she threw herself down helplessly on the sofa and sobbed helplessly into the arm of the chair.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

A few hours later Gwen lay curled up on the sofa in Rhys' arms, they'd actually managed to have a nice evening together, considering how it had begun.

Rhys had put baby Ianto to bed, and then they'd both sat for the next hour chomping their way through a family sized meat feat pizza with garlic bread, onion rings, coleslaw,, and a cheese and chive dip, and a chunky chocolate compote for desert.

Rhys would often say that when the pressure was on, food was the best medicine to help relieve the stresses of the day gone by, and he was probably right. As she devoured her way through her own body weight in greasy, fatty, stodgy comfort food Gwen did begin to start to feel a little better… but she still couldn't take her mind off Jack.

The bottle of the red wine, and box of pink chocolates in a box the shape of a giant heart which Rhys had presented her with on his return home had helped her a little though, and they'd spent the next few hours watching cheesy romantic comedies, curled up on the sofa together, content just to lie in each others arms.

Rhys wasn't a massive fan of the cheesy romantic brand of modern day movie, but he knew how much Gwen liked to watch them when she was feeling down – even of it was only to pick out the imperfections in their frequently weak storylines and sickeningly perfect lives – and so he'd picked up a few of her favourite ones, which she didn't already own on DVD, on his way home.

Gwen hadn't expected to hear anymore off Jack that evening, and so they'd cracked open the bottle of wine after dinner, and she was already onto her third glass of the evening when her mobile phone – which she'd left readily at hand upon the coffee table in front of them – suddenly went off.

Gwen's heart leapt as she flew out of a surprised Rhys' arms, and made a desperate grab for the phone – as a fisherman might if he had just lost his first catch of the day – spilling quite an amount of the sticky, rich alcohol as she slammed her glass down on the table in the process.

Rhys continued to lie there, a little shell shocked – waiting expectantly for his wife to open the message which she'd just received.

'_I'm sorry. Meet me at the Hub in twenty minutes… I have something to show you._

_Jack.'_

Gwen sighed with relief, slipping the phone into her pocket and leaning back against the chair for support.

"It's Jack." She explained. "He wants me to meet him."

"Would you like me to drive you?" Rhys asked, with a slight smile curling his young face – he'd known deep down that Jack would never have left without saying goodbye, especially after having only just got back… he cared too much for that – but Gwen shook her head.

"No, thank you darling." She explained, taking a final sip of wine for Dutch courage as she rallied herself to her feet, and drawing him closer to her into a light embrace, arms resting limp and contentedly open his shoulders, before planting a passionate and affectionate kiss upon his lips. "You've already had more to drink than I have… besides, I need to do this by myself."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

When Gwen finally got there Jack already had Ianto's body laid out on the autopsy table, suit immaculate, barely a crease to mention of – just as in life. She stood back for a moment – watching as Jack looked affectionately down into the face of his lover, smiling – despite herself – as he cupped Ianto's cold and pale cheek in the warm clasp of his palm, tracing his well defined jaw-line with one shaky forefinger, before placing a short and delicate peck upon the young Welshman's lips.

She watched how Jack tenderly busied himself around Ianto's body, gently smoothing out the creases of his collar, until she began to feel as though she was intruding on some deeply private moment, something she had no right to witness – especially after the way she'd spoken to Jack earlier. She began to feel as though she might if she'd been reading somebody's diary without their permission, and began to approach them slowly , her steps cautious – not sure of the reaction she might receive, nor indeed if she was of course welcome – until she was barely a few feet away from them.

Jack must have sensed her presence with this as he suddenly froze, but didn't speak, or turn around. She moved slowly around the edge of the autopsy table, until she'd manoeuvred herself directly in front of him, all the time never taking her eyes away from Ianto's pale and lifeless face. She had to stifle a small sob as she looked down at him, the sweet and always somehow slightly unsure smile now permanently wiped from his beautiful face – those lyrical Welsh tones now a long lost memory, whispers of a past which sometimes, if she stopped to think about it long enough, still haunted her present and clouded her future. She hadn't seen Ianto since the day he'd been taken from them – since that wretched and tragic day when so many had perished at the hands of the 456, but Torchwood had preserved the body well – sometimes it seemed to Gwen as though anything was possible. Torchwood had introduced her to a world she'd long believed belonged to a land of make believe and fairytale – they could keep a body so well preserved that several months down the line it's condition was still that as on the day of death – no sign of the weathering's of time or touched by decay, at yet they could not bring the dead back to life. It seemed so incredulous… so unfair.

Ianto's complexion was paler than the last time Gwen had seen him, now tinged with several shades of grey and blue as though all the blood had been drained from his body, but as she starred down at him it seemed to her as though he could have easily just been asleep. She traced the outline of his cold cheekbone affectionately with a gentle forefinger, accidently caressing Jack's warm finger, as she did so as he stroked the stray locks of inky black hair away from his lovers forehead, with a surprisingly tender touch – looking up she saw a single, sad and solitary tear trace it's path downwards against his cheek, closely followed by another, and she instinctively reached out to cup her own cool and clammy palm over the top of Jack's hand in a gesture of comfort.

He looked up at her, meeting her gaze as her flesh made contact with his – expression full of pain and, misery, and despair, and loss.

"I'm sorry." She choked.

"I know." He sighed.

She squeezed his hand reassuringly and he reached over to cup her cheek affectionately in his palm, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb which had started to gather in her lower eyelid and was threatening to fall, as he did so. Gwen leaned longingly into his touch – it seemed so long since they'd both shared a moment like this, a moment of mutual friendship and understanding, that she almost felt afraid to breathe – lest she say or do something which might ruin it.

Jack seemed so lost, a shadow of the man he'd once been. Gwen didn't want to say or do anything to risk damaging him any further than he already had been. It seemed to her as though life had finally dealt him one heavy blow too many when Ianto had died, and she'd hated to see him suffer so badly throughout those several months before he'd eventually left – but could bringing Ianto back really be the answer?

Of course if it could have been achieved with little or no risk attached she'd have been all for it – what she wouldn't give to hear those soft Welsh tones again, or see his reassuring smiling face beaming down at her in the morning as he brought her a perfect cup of coffee – but working for Torchwood had had it's drawbacks too, and Gwen had learnt fairly early on in her career that nothing came without a cost.

"I couldn't do anything to save him Gwen." Jack sobbed, and the young Welsh woman looked up to see fresh tears glistening in the older man's eyes and trickling down his pale cheeks as the pain of the memory of that day overwhelmed him. "I held him in my arms and I watched him die, and I couldn't do anything to save him."

"I know Jack." Gwen sniffed, looking the Captain square in the eyes at this and squeezing the back of his hand – still clasped affectionately within her own warm and clammy palm – reassuringly, but Jack simply pulled the icy limb away from her tender touch with this gesture and swiped at another solitary stray tear which had slowly sorted to cascade down his cheek.

"I've seen so much…" He breathed, struggling to compose himself in a bid to control the subtle upheavals of his chest – and Gwen realised that Jack had never felt comfortable in giving in to his emotions before an audience of people, never wanting to show weakness in front of his team – and not realising that those brief glimpses of humanity behind his too often harsh and unfeeling exterior were what had endeared him too them in the first place… in fact, she sometimes thought to herself, there were perhaps times when he cared just a little too much… and the sad truth was that no matter what he did, no matter how many people he helped, how many lives he saved, Jack always seemed to end up alone.

She smiled a small, crooked, sympathetic smile, as fresh tears began to glisten in her own eyes – this time not for Ianto, for the loss of her dear and trusted friend, but for Jack, and the unfairness of the lonely eternal existence he must lead.

"I've lived so many lives Gwen…" Jack continued, remaining oblivious to a world which, of course, still carried on around him, almost entirely consumed now by his own grief and pain, as he looked down into Ianto's closed and lifeless eyes wistfully – with a sadness within his own which it almost broke Gwen's aching heart to have to witness – almost as though he was willing him to wake up, "most of which I've forgotten… I've loved so many people – but none of it ever seemed real until I met him. Ianto was a light in a world full of darkness… Ianto made life worth living again…" He explained.

Gwen sighed longingly, and a moment of silence preceded to elapse between them with this before Jack's gaze suddenly shot up to settle upon her, a somewhat desperate glint set within his pale blue irises, almost pleadingly – as though he was suddenly seeing her for the first time.

'But desperate for what?' Gwen wondered – somewhere within his troubled gaze, it almost looked like forgiveness.

"I can fix this Gwen." He urged her. "I promise you, I can fix this…" and a somewhat contented smile suddenly passed across his striking features – appearing momentarily like his old self, the jack she'd first met all those years ago… and then she noticed why.

A glint of silver, partially obscured by Ianto's sleeping head, and apparently attached to the hand she'd previously assumed Jack had been using to support his lovers lifeless body, suddenly shimmered in the dull light of the dark room.

It took Gwen a brief moment to realise what it was, and when it finally dawned in her – the identity of the metallic object – she gasped.

"Jack, what have you done?" She gasped – observing for the first time the resurrection glove, strategically resting at the base of Ianto's head.

"I had to." Jack explained. "You have to understand, I had to start the process before you arrived in case you tried to stop me."

"But Jack…" She protested, reaching out to try and knock the glove from his hand, not even thinking about the damage she might do if she was to succeed – but Jack simply put out his other remaining hand to stop her.

"But before Ianto wakes up, there's something I haven't told you Gwen." He explained, this time almost as if he was saying goodbye. "This glove, I can use it to bring Ianto back, but, the way it works, it draws the life force from another living being into another. I have an indefinite supply, and so for as long as I can survive, for as long as I'm around, Ianto should be too. But there are no guarantees. There's no guarantee that when Ianto wakes up the glove won't suck too much life energy from me in one go, nor that if that happens, or if I get fatally injured in the future I will have enough to bring me back from that."

… and that's when it was Gwen realised, Jack was saying goodbye.

"Then stop it, stop it now than Jack!" She cried, fresh tears glistening in her eyes, as she looked at him pleadingly. "I can't, I won't lose both of you!"

"I can't…" Jack shook his head at this however. "Ianto and me are now already connected. If I break that connection now then it could kill us both anyway. It's all down to chance, and do I dare say it, fate now!"

"But what if…" Gwen faltered, her tone and expression desperate – fresh tears trickling down her face – as she looked pleadingly into her Captain's eyes. "What if, lets say you were to both survive beyond tonight? What then?" She asked. "What if you were wounded Jack, or you got sick, and you were to die?"

"Eventually my life force coursing through Ianto would run out, and he too would die." Jack explained. "Whether it would take weeks, or months, or years, or even just day, hours, minutes, or even seconds, not even I can predict that." He continued. "But, eventually, at some point Ianto would die. But if I were to the resurrect, so would Ianto, for as long as the glove remained whole."

"So when will we know if the glove is going to work or not?" Gwen asked reluctantly, and Jack smiled.

"It already had." He grinned.

Suddenly Gwen gasped as an array of medical equipment surrounding Ianto's motionless body, and which she'd previously unobserved, suddenly erupted into life – monitors designed to monitor brain waves and heart rate began to bleep erratically as Ianto's once long dead organs miraculously returned to life, and he took a sudden loud gasp of breath – a deep chesty gurgling sound – as his heaving lungs and ribcage fought painfully for the richly oxygenated air which his body had been deprived of for so long. Gwen looked wide eyed at Jack – his back arched painfully, whole body shaking slightly as his every limb convulsed with the powerful hold which the glove now held over him.

"It worked!" The young woman exclaimed excitedly as she watched the colour slowly drain back into Ianto's pale lips and cheeks – the pale shades of grey and blue now suddenly replaced by a far healthier pink hew. "Jack, it worked!"

Jack didn't even have chance to respond to her joyous and gleeful cries at this however, nor to revel in the happiness of the moment and to share in her relief – he was suddenly rendered speechless.

A near blinding flash of light filled the room. Gwen staggered backwards, having to shield her delicate eyes from its sudden force for a moment as the sudden burst of energy took a moment to completely clear – lingering painfully within the rooms atmosphere for several long seconds before seemingly appearing to be absorbed by Ianto's shivering body.

When Gwen looked again she noticed Jack – face contorted in an expression of combined pain and fear, and, taking a few tentative steps towards his motionless form realised too late what the sudden burst of energy must mean.

"Jack…" She choke, hand outstretched towards him as he emitted a weak breathy groan.

As Ianto's eyes suddenly flew open, Jack's eyes rolled backwards into the back of his head. His whole body suddenly shuddered, convulsing violently and shaking – swaying slightly from side to side as he breathed one final loud, chocking breath before collapsing weightlessly to the floor – unconscious.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Gwen rushed to Jack's unconscious side – he was still convulsing but as she bent down beside him it became clear that at least he couldn't feel any pain anymore, his eyes were closed and his limbs lay limp at his side, except for when the violent seizures gripped him.

The tears streamed down her pale and frightened face as she checked his pulse, two fingers to the side of his neck, feeling for his jugular as she tapped him gently on the cheek with her one available hand – but all to no avail.

"Jack!" She pleaded with his limp and lifeless body in her arms, her tears splashing down against his cold chin and cheeks, soaking his hard, marble like skin and discolouring his t-shirt with tiny, dirty pock-marks. "God Jack, what have you done? You silly, silly man! Come on Jack, wake up! Please wake up!"

Her sobs wracked her body like a violent pulsation of energy as she was overcome by grief and despair – but there was nothing she could do.

Finally she got to her feet, swiping away her tears angrily. She'd managed to establish that Jack was at least still alive and now she turned her attentions to Ianto – surprised, as she turned to look at him, that he was now sitting up, an expression of pure terror registering upon his young, grey face as he watched Jack shake and shiver on the floor before him, slowly manoeuvring his stiff legs over the edge of the examination table. He was still pale but to Gwen's relief she noticed the colour slowly beginning to creep back into his cheeks as each precious second now ticked by – Jack's own expression now palling – as she slowly crept towards the young Welshman, not sure what sort of a reaction to expect, before relief suddenly overcame her and she ran towards him, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight embrace.

"It worked!" She exclaimed. "Jack, it really worked!"

Ianto rubbed his eyes wearily, eyes which were still glued in horror to Jack's now unmoving form – except for the sporadic rise and fall of his chest to indicate that he was at least for the moment still breathing, and the intermittent twitch of an arm or a leg. He didn't even appear to notice Gwen until she embraced him, and even then didn't return the gesture – too shocked and alarmed by what was now unfolding before him. Meanwhile Gwen continued to sob into Ianto'd cold shoulder – her tears becoming more and more violent as she gave in to both the grief and the joy which wracked her, until finally she felt herself being gently pushed aside as Ianto tentatively slid himself down from the examination table, and on shaky legs made his way over to Jack's still form.

"Careful..." She informed him. "You haven't used your legs for almost two years, you're likely to still be a little bit shaky..."

"What happened?" The young Welshman asked in disbelief as he bent down beside Jack's unmoving and unconscious body – his pale finger instinctively stroking his former lover's grey and discoloured cheek affectionately as he looked up at Gwen for answers – answers which she didn't have. Her eyes glistened with unshed, glassy tears, their lids swollen and bloodshot from crying and her freckled cheeks pink with the ferocity of her grief. She sniffed, looking from Jack to Ianto and back again – torn between throwing her arms around Ianto for the second time that evening, or shaking Jack so hard that his brains shot through his ears. She still couldn't forgive the Captain for doing this to her – for putting her through all this grief and heartache when she'd only just got him back – but in the end she decided to embrace caution and opted for neither.

"I don't really know." She finally faltered, in all truthfulness, and looking to the expectant gaze of the confused young Welshman before her, his deep blue eyes boring into hers as though she were a beacon of familiarity and hope in a world which no longer seemed to make sense to him. She couldn't help but feel for him, the last time he'd seen Jack he'd lay slowly dying in his lovers strong arms, as breath by agonising breath he's frail body had succumbed to the lethal toxin in the air – just one of the tens of innocent citizens murdered that day at the alien hands of the 456. Now he'd suddenly awoken, as though the whole experience had been nothing more than a bad dream, to find himself back in Cardiff, inside a Hub which looked vaguely like the one he'd once worked in – but which couldn't possibly be so as that one had been blown up by the government almost three years ago now – starring down at the unconscious body of the man who'd been forced to watch him die that day, the unconscious form of the only man he'd ever loved. He was bound to find the whole situation just a little overwhelming.

Ianto had no way of knowing that he'd actually been dead for close to the past eighteen months – nor how deeply his death had effected Jack, who'd become a shell of the man he'd once been without his beloved Welshman by his side.

"Ianto," Gwen sighed, her expression full of empathy as she knelt down beside him, and she squeezed his shoulder gently. "I have something to tell you."

The young Welshwoman then proceeded to tell her friend everything which had transpired over the past couple of years – starting with his own untimely death and Jack's subsequent depression, followed by the Captain's decision to leave Earth, and about his eventual and long overdue return only a few hours previous.

As she spoke Ianto sat quietly and listened, cradling Jack's limp head in his soft lap.

Finally she told him about the 'Resurrection Glove' and as the fresh tears began to well in her own glistening, orb-like eyes – the pain of being forced to relive the heartache of the past couple of years proving to all be just a little too much to bare – the by now much recovered but still incredibly confused young man heard the breath hitch in his lover's throat, and the wheezy, choking croak of his breathing.

Putting two icy cold fingers to the side of the Captain's throat now himself to feel for a pulse his still pale, ashen features blanched even further as he found it – now weak and thready.

"He's barely breathing." He exclaimed – unable to control the alarm which seized him like a silent aggressor – stunning him with fear instead of a well placed punch to the face, and mocking him with the unfairness of the situation. His own breath now hitched in his throat – and he had to swallow a strangled sob in order to prevent it from escaping.

Jack had lived so many different lives, loved so many different people, and played so many roles over the course of his long lifetime – spanning ahead into an eternity Ianto knew he himself would never be a part of – but he had risked it all for his young lover, because the ironic truth was that after everything he must have seen and done throughout a lifetime spanning several centuries Captain Jack Harkness hadn't been able to face the thought of living another day without Ianto Jones by his side.

"I'll set up a bed for him in the medical bay." Gwen sniffed, wiping her mascara stained cheeks and the inky black splodges from around her eyes with the heels of her palms, before getting slowly and stiffly to her feet. "It's... it's never been used." She explained, and Ianto watched the young woman as she turned and began to walk away.

As he watched her go Gen discreetly concealed her face from view with her two slightly trembling hands, but he could still clearly see that she was crying from her occasional hiccoughs and sniffles which echoed through the empty chasm, and carried back to him, and by the sporadic way in which her shoulders moved.

When she was gone Ianto rubbed at an area of skin where her cold, wet nose has caressed his neck – the flesh was now warm – and subconsciously placed the back of his palm to Jack's pale cheeks and clammy forehead – which were now surprisingly cold.

With increasing ease he now leant forwards until his own face was almost pressed right up against that of his lover, and his warm lips immediately found themselves clamped around Jack's own icy, dry orifice of flesh – the tiny wisps of milky breath which escaped him the only indication that he was indeed still breathing, and even still alive – it was like kissing a stone statue.

As the young Welshman pulled away he looked down at the still and silent figure of the brave man before him – light blue pools of shimmering ice boring into closed eyelids, and he wondered what was going on behind the now locked doors into Jack's soul.

"Oh Jack, what have you done?" He sighed.


End file.
